The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, October 31, 2008 - 7 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 31, 2008 - 7 . Palin looks past Tuesday to political future Supporters already imagining 2012 run for VP candidate JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) -With days still to go in the White House race, backers of vice presi- dential candidate Sarah Palin are talking her up as a possible con- tender in 2012, speculation that irritates other Republicans who contend she's a drag on the ticket and that her lightweight image - unfair or not - will be hard to shed. The Alaska governor has done little to quiet the talk. In fact, she fueled the discussion this week when she signaled that she will remain on the national political scene no matter what happens Tuesday. "I'm not doing this for naught," she said in an interview with ABC News. The telegenic Paln, who burst onto the national stage seven weeks ago, has divided conser- vatives - some energized by her strong stand on social issues and others embarrassed by her halt- ing interview performances. On the campaign trail, she is a popu- lar draw, attracting numbers that a Republican Party searching for female star power can't ignore. The divide is clearly evident. George Will, a prominent con- servative columnist, suggested "Palin has become an even heavi- er weight in John McCain's sad- dle than is his association with George W. Bush." Indeed, a poll released this week by the Pew Research Cen- ter found that 49 percent of vot- ers had an unfavorable opinion of Palin, compared to 44 percent who viewed her favorably. Pew also found that unlike past vice presidential choices, opinions of Palin mattered to the ticket. And public opinion about Palin is slipping, according to a CBS- New York Times poll released Thursday. It found that the num- ber of voters who think she is not prepared has grown from 50 percent to 59 percent in the last month. None of that is apparent as Palin campaigns across battle- ground states in the closing days PANEL From Page 1A The panelists also gave their thoughts on which campaign issue was most pressing for women. The responses included Supreme Court appointments, which could potentially alter abortion rights laid forth in Roe v. Wade, and the financial crisis' impact on women and children - an issue Lantz said hits those groups harder. UBOOKS From Page 1A fessors to release textbook lists early. Weir said individual schools within the University were welcome to implement stricter regulations. "No one in central administration believes . they know better than the individual faculty about textbook choices or the timing of textbook choices," she said. Beginning Nov. 10, students will also be able to view textbook ELECTION DAY From Page 1A Styer said he's told his professors that he will miss class and that they have been receptive. "One of my professors is the for- mer chair of the Michigan Republi- can Party, and he said in the spirit of bipartisanship, he would be fine with me taking the day off," Styer said. Associate Political Science Prof. TEENS From Page 1A will also work at the polls. "This is a presidential elec- tion that every kid is dying to be involved with," Dahl said. As election inspectors, the high school students will have the same duties as other poll workers, she said. The job entails getting to the polls by 6 a.m. Tuesday, opening the polls at 7 a.m., processing vot- ers and ballots and setting up and tearing down equipment. In all, the students will work an 16-hour day and receive eight dol- lars an hour. "Most of our seniors say they enjoy having them there," said Beaudry, referring to the city's of the presidential contest. She drew huge crowds to a rally in southern Missouri on Thursday and 16,000 jammed in to see her Wednesday night in Jefferson- ville, Ind., many wearing "Sara- hcuda" T-shirts and buttons saying "I'm a bitter gun owner, and I vote." Pell Blakeman, a Palin support- er who now calls himself "Pell the Electrician" in honor of the infa- mous Joe the Plumber, captured her appeal this way: "She just connects with the people. She's doing a fine job and she'll make a fine president one day." Palin's future will be a top item on the agenda at a meeting of national conservatives scheduled next Thursday outside Washing- ton. Participants in the meeting have declined to offer many spe- cifics but said Palin's role in the conservative movement, either as vice president or as a 2012 con- tender if the GOP ticket loses, will be discussed. To that end, Palin has begun to develop a national political iden- tity that is separate from McCa- in's. . She's given three policy speeches in the last week, on energy independence, special needs children and the ways in which women are affect- ed by national tax policy. She announced her support for a con- stitutional amendment banning gay marriage despite McCain's long-standing opposition to such a measure. And she has publicly questioned some of the McCain campaign's tactics, like the use of robocalls and the decision to pull resources out of Michigan. Such departures from the script have irked some of McCa- in's advisers even as the Arizona senator insists he has no problem with Palin asserting herself. "Sarah's a maverick, I'm a mav- erick. No one expected us to agree on everything," McCain said on "Larry King Live" Wednesday; adding, "We share the same val- ues, the same principles, the same goals for this country." If the Republican ticket were to win next Tuesday, Palin would instantly be viewed, as a GOP nominee-in-waiting no matter what her stated intentions. She'd Obama has approached lawmaker Emanuel about chief of staff post PHOTO BY KIcI Republica o presidential candidate Sarah Polio speaks ala rally in frost of toss Cousty Courthouss in Chillicoths, Ohio oWednesday. also be the most prominent and popular conservative in McCain's sphere - a powerful role, given many conservatives' lukewarm view of McCain. "You have various legs to the Republican stool, and she'll be a feisty spokeswoman for that part of the party," Republican strate- gist William O'Reilly said of a potential Palin vice presidency. But with Democrat Barack Obama leading in the polls, McCain aides are second-guess- ing many decisions made during the campaign, including Palin's role. She was poorly vetted for the job, leading critics to say McCain had botched his first major deci- sion as a presidential nominee. And aides are distraught over how Palin's initial rollout turned sour after her well-received speech to the Republican National Conven- tion in August. In the days that followed, Palin was shielded from the press except for a few cringe-worthy TV interviews in which she was hard-pressed to name a newspa- per she reads and said Alaska's proximity to Russia gave her insight into that country's affairs. The interyiews helped fuel Tina Fey's widely viewed "Saturday Night Live" impersonations of Palin as charming but clueless. "I think she may have been ill- served by staff who sequestered *her after the convention and gave the Democrats a chance to define her," New Hampshire GOP chair- man Fergus Cullen said. "That may have lasting political con- sequences for her past election day." Palin's reputation came in for another hit after the Republican National Committee disclosed it had spent about $150,000 at pricey department stores and boutiques to buy clothes for her and members of her family. Palin defended herself as a frugal shop- per and called the purchases part. of the stagecraft of running a national campaign, but the flap helped tarnish her image as a champion of the middle class. But Palin's strongest support still lies with grass roots voters, many of whom cite her popular- ity and executive experience in Alaska as evidence that she could step into the presidency once day. "I think she's the best thing that's happened to this cam- paign," 20-year Navy veteran Bill Costello said at the Missouri rally Thursday. "Me and my particular clique - we aren't voting for John McCain, we're voting for Sarah." WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's campaign has approached Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel about possibly serving as White House chief of staff, officials said Thursday as the marathon presidential race entered its final, frenzied stretch with a Democratic tilt. The disclosure came as Repub- lican John McCain, in need of a comeback, focused on pocketbook issues amid fresh signs of a reces- sion. "Ohio is hurting now, people in Ohio are having trouble staying in their homes, keeping their jobs," he said as he set out on a two-day bus tour of the state. "We have gotto get this economy out of the ditch." Obama, biddingto becomelthe first black president, also pointed to the government's report that the econ- omy had declined in the third quar- ter. He told a large crowd in Florida that McCain has been perched "right next to George Bush" for eight years, and consumers are paying a steep price for their partnership. The Democrats who described the Obama campaign's approach to Emanuel spoke on condition of ano- nymity, saying they were not autho- rized to be quoted by name. An aide to the congressman, Sarah Fein- berg, said in an e-mail that he "has not been contacted to take a job in an administration that does not yet exist. Everyone is focused on Elec- tion Day, as they should be." Asked about Emanuel after touching down in Colombia, Mo., on Thursday night, Obama said only: "I'm trying to win an elec- tion." Then, referring to campaign manager David Plouffe, he said: "Plouffe is my chief of staff." ObamacampaignspokesmanBill Burton earlier had said: "There's no news because there's no job to offer." Emanuel is aveteran of President Clinton's White House, and has made a rapid ascent of the House leadership ladder since his election to Congress. He was chairman of the Democratic campaign commit- tee two years ago when the party won a majority for the first time in more than a decade, and he cement- ed his reputation as a prodigious fundraiser and strong-willed politi- cal strategist. Both Obama and McCain have authorized their staffs to begintran- sition operations in recent weeks - although only one of them will be able to make use of the results. As far as. is known, no job offers have been made by either man. Even so, Republicans seized on the disclosure. "Emanuel is among the most vitriolic and partisan people-in American politics," said Alex Conant, a Republican National Committee spokesman. "Reports that Obama wants him to be White House chief of staff undercut any claims to unity and bipartisanship, and should alarm every voter." As the race neared an end, opin- ion polls, early voting statistics and even the candidates' campaign schedules all make it look like the race is Obama's to lose. The Democrat campaigned exclusively in traditionally Repub- lican states during the day, flying from Florida to Virginia to Mis- souri, in hopes of winning a sizable victory on Tuesday. Polls consis- tently show him ahead nationally as well as in a half-dozen states that sided with Bush in2004, and tied in three more. McCain's bus tour of Ohio under- scored his political predicament. Bush won the state twice, it has voted for the winner in every presi- dential election for 20 years, and public and private surveys all give Obama the advantage. Both campaigns invested heavily in turning out early voters. Officials in North Carolina said roughly 30 percent of all regis- tered voters had already cast bal- lots - about 1.7 million in all - and the Board of Elections ordered the state's 100 counties to keep longer voting hours. Like the opinion polls, the early ballot count favored Obama. Offi- cials in Iowa, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada as well as North Carolina said more Demo- crats than Republicans had cast ballots, in some cases by lopsided margins. The crowd of about 40 seemed to be heavily Democratic, as evi- denced by the dinner table. By the end of the event, about a quarter of the napkins with Democratic- symbolizing donkeys remained, while the napkins featuring ele- phants, the Republicans' party symbol, were hardly touched. Public Policy student Aman- da Jones, who helped organize. the event, said more conversa- tions like last night's need to take place. lists for classes they are enrolled in through CTools. The lengthy implementa- tion is the result of substantial upgrades to Michigan. Admin- istrative Information Services and M-Pathways, which oversee the University's information sys- tems. Weir said the new application will make it possible to track how many professors are posting books online and how many stu- dents are selling textbooks using UBook. "This term, as things are being rolled out, is really too early," Jenna Bednar said she planned to bringherchildrentoclassonTuesday because Ann Arbor Public Schools have cancelled school that day. She said she thinks students will be less focused on their classes because they'llbe following the election. "After such a long campaign, it will be impossible not to have our minds on the election once the out- come is known at last," Bednar said in an e-mail interview. Natural Resources Prof. Jim senior citizen poll workers and how they view the high schoolers. "Because they're younger, they have the energy and the long day doesn't wear on them." Ann Arbor has been recruiting 16- and 17-year-olds to work the polls since the 2000 presidential election, Beaudry said, mostly through the city's partnership with Pioneer High School and Dahl. By Dahl's estimate, the number of election inspectors from Pio- neer High School doubled in 2004 and then again this year. "I think part of it is word of mouth," Dahl said. Because of the high number of participants this year, Dahl said she screened the applications to get more reliable students. "It is a huge issue that we have a female candidate in the upcom- ing election but that female issues have not been mentioned at all," she said. Zara Ahmed, a Policy and Public Health graduate student, agreed. "Large discussions about female rights is something that doesn't get talked about enough," she said. "We talk about Sarah Palin's shoes, but we don't talk about what Sarah Palin's shoes mean." she said. "I think we'll really be able to tell how the campus has embraced it next term." Lester Monts, senior vice pro- vost for academic affairs, said he was proud the student-initiated project will soon become a real- ity. LSA sophomore Matt Hillyer said he felt the application would be useful, adding that he pur- chased the wrong edition of a book this semester because of a lack of clarity from his professor. "I ended up spendingover $250 for a class that I definitely did not need to," he said. Diana said that while he was urging all students to vote, he didn't find it necessary to cancel class. "I understand, but that's not what we're paid to do," Diana said of cancelling classes. LSA freshman Katie Cavanagh said she plans vote and attend class on Tuesday, adding that it was pos- sible to do both. "I just have one class on Tuesday, so I'll just go before," she said. After a pause, she added, "Or after." Some prospective poll workers found campaigning more appeal- ing. Beaudry said a handful of high schoolers were accepted to work the polls but dropped out to help with the campaigns. "We do lose some people if they're more into the political partisan side," she said. "They don't necessarily want to work the polls - they're more into the cam- paigning." For Gutterman, an Obama intern, canvassing neighbor- hoods on Election Day will be the culmination of more than a year of volunteering for the cam- paign. "I thought, why not get involved, why not help," she said. "It's not enough to just believe in something." Dream jobs-alumni have them. And we can hook you up through Michigan Apprentice, a free one-day shadowing opportunity with high-profile alumni. The Alumni Association will help you prepare for your next stage in life even before you graduate. Here's your chance for an unforgettable career and personal development experience with top-notch Michigan alumni. If you're a junior or senior you could be selected for an all-expenses-paid one-day internship: Here are the fall 2008 Michigan Apprentice opportunities: * Douglas M. McCracken Jr. is a senior global brand manager for Activision Blizzard, where he launched Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Location: Santa Monica, CA * Jerry May is the vice president for development at the University of Michigan. Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan * Bill Wenzell is the development officer for Focus: HOPE. Location: Detroit, Michigan * Jared Page is a registered lobbyist who works for Capitol Resources Washington Representation. Location: Washington, DC " Eric Braate is a WDIV meteorologist for Local 4 News Morning and Local 4 News. Location: Detroit, Michigan * Jeremy Steinberg is the vice president of digital sales and business development at FOX News Channel Location: New York * Paul Saginaw is the co-owner and founder partner of Zingerman's Community of Businesses. Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan ALUMNIASSOCIATION Application deadline is midnight EST, November 6. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Get details on how to apply at www.umaLumni.com/students.